Recorder.



C. H. RICHARDS.

RECORDER.

APPLICATION men APR. 6. 1914.

' J rot/67165072 Patented Dec. 4, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I C. H. RICHARDS.

RECORDER APPLICATION FILED APR. 6. 1914.

WW n m r w CARROLL H. RICHARDS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RECORDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec.4, 191 '7.

Application filed April 6, 1914. Serial No. 829,816.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CAnnoLL H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Recorders, of which the following i a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

This inventionhas reference to improvements in means for recording the work accomplished by an intermittently operated machine as, for instance, a motor truck or.

other vehicle, and the elapsed time between the several periods of operation of the ma chine or truck.

The object of the invention is to so con struct a recording mechanism of the nature herein described and having aprinting distance recording; mechanism progressively operated by the machine or truck and a time recording device operated independently of said printing recorder that at the initial starting operation of said machine or truck an impression will be taken of the miles recorded by the printing recorder and the time recorded by the time device and that subsequently such impressions will be taken at the stopping and starting of the machine or truck.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description.

The invention consists in such novel features of construction and combination of parts as shall hereinafter be more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1, represents a front elevation of the improved recorder, the cover and som of its related parts being removed.

Fig. 1 represents a view of a portion of the record strip or member R showing a series of records as printed thereon by this machine.

Fig. represents a sectional view of the same taken on line Fig. 1, the cover being shown in position.

Fig. 3, represents a detail sectional view of one of the impression strip take ups taken on line 3-3 Fig. 2.

Fig. 4:, represents a sectional detail view of portions of the platen operating mechanism.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout.

As shown in the drawings 5 indicates a suitable casing adapted to be mounted on or carried by a motor truck and having the bearing sleeve 6 for the shaft 7 which latter 18 adapted to be driven by some moving part of the truck or of its motor to effect the rotatlon of said shaft 7 and its bevel pinion 8. The exterior of casing 5 is shaped to recelve the wall 9 of its cover 10 which is adapted to be secured in position. I This cover 10 has the bracket 11 and the shafts 12 and 13 the latter of which is rotatable and has the attached sleeve 1% having the P1111011 15 and,'at its outer end, the socket 16, indicated. Pinion 15 engages the large gear 17 rotatable 011 shaft 12 which latter has its sleeve connected with gear 18 having the bevel pinion 19 which is driven from pinion 8 of the main actuating shaft 7. Gear 18 drives gear 20 which has the member 21 having end socket 22, indicated, while this gear 20 has a shaft 23 journaled in a bearmg of bracket 11.

Within the casing 5 is located the timer case 24: containing any ordinary clock mechanism winch 13 not shown but which has means for rotating the arbor 25, through whleh the ring 26, having peripheral raised numerals, may be continuously rotated to register at some point the elapsed hours. Similarly, the sleeve 27 of the clock mechamsm effects the continuous rotation of the annular member 28 having peripherally disposed numerals by which the elapsed minutes are registered at said point. Secured to the casing 5 i the bracket 29 carrying the shaft 30 on which are rotatable printing disks 31, 31 and 32, 32 having peripherally disposed raised numerals whereby thesev disks may register the miles traveled by the vehicle or the work performed atthe point of hue a and such point or line is coincident with the point or line a at which the numerals of the rotating members 26 and 28 register whereby theraised numerals of all of the disks or members 27 28 and 31, 32 register on said line the correlation of the distance traveled by the vehicle or the work performed, and the time occupied in such operation. Rotation of said mechanism is effected through shaft 33 extending through shaft 30 and having the pinion 34L driven by pinion 35 from shaft 36 which latter is journaled in bearings of bracket 29 and has Mounted on the wall of casing 5 are the brackets 38, 39 on which are carried the frames 10, 11 of similar construction which is shown in Fig. 3 in section. These frames 40, t1 have the key arbors 12, 43 each of p which has a ratchet 44, 45 and, at the inner portion of said frame, the spring i6 and the pinion 17 which latter meshes with the pinion 18 of shaft 4.9 journaled in said frame 40 or 11, as the case may be, and having the end 50 removably engaged in a complemental socket of a ribbon spool 51, 52 which is rotatably sustained between said shaft 19 and a stud as 53 of the casing 5. The ribbon R, R of any impression receiving material is wound on one of said spools 51 or 52, usually on spool 52 and its end is connected with the other of said spools. The essential difference in the springs as do of frames 10 and i1 is that said springs are wound in opposite directions and'hence exert a strain on the ribbon R, R, but one of said springs may be stronger than the other. Each of said ratchets 1st and a5 is supplied with pawls and 55 respectively which ratchets are used mainly to resist the unwinding rotation of the ratchets, under ac tion of their springs, when the strip R, R, is being renewed or at other times but, ordinarily, when the machine is in operation said pawls 5st and 55 are disengaged from their ratchets.

The ribbon is guided beneath the point or line a of correlative registration of the reg istering members 26, 28, 31, 32, by the guide rolls 56 and 57 which are carried by members mounted on the platen or impression block or table 58 which has the rod 59 slidable in the guide (30, fixed to the casing 5, and having the head 61 between which and guide 60 is the expansion spring 62. Roll 57 is rotatably mounted in arms 63, 63 which are pivotaliy mounted on studs secured to the platen 58 and said arms are pressed downward by the springs 6 1-, 6-1 so that said ribbon R, R, is held between the peripheries of the rolls 57 and G5 which latter is preferably of rubber or other friction material and has its shaft 66 journaled in the arms 67 which are fixed to the guide 60 and one of said arms 67 has the spring pressed pawl 68 which is engaged with the ratchet 69 of said shaft 66. Depending from the platen 58 is the stud 70 which carries the arm 71 having the pivoted spring pressed pawl 72 which is also engaged with the ratchet 69 so that when platen 58 is moved upward this pawl 72 acts to effect progressive rotative movement of said ratchet 69 and its shaft 66 and roll 65 to advance the ribbon R, R toward the take up spool 51.

At the lower portion of easing 5 is the spring motor case 7 3 containing the spring motor 7% of any ordinary construction having the spindle 75 which carries the large gear 76 and the stop disk 77. Gear 76 meshes with and drives the small gear 78 which is on shaft 79 journaled in bearings of the bracket 80 and having the cam 81 Which latter acts against head 61 of platen rod 59. In order to control and limit the operation of shaft 75 and its gear 76 1 provide a detent 82 which is pivotally mounted on a stud extending from the lower portion of case 73 and has the arm and the detaining ends 84 and 85 of which the latter is hook shaped. This detent S2 is adapted to be swung in one direction by spring so to bring its detaining end 8 1 into position to intercept the tooth of the stop disk 77 and said detent is adapted to be swung by its connecting rod 87 to release said detaining end 84: from said tooth and to bring its hook detainer 85 into the path of said tooth.

Connecting rod 87 is actuated by the arm 88 of the member 89 on shaft 90 which latter is mounted to slide in a guide of the bracket 80 and at its outer end is engaged by the collar 91 of a governor device which has the pairs of weighted pivoted arms 92, 92 connected with the member 93 of shaft 9 1 which is journaled in a bearing of bracket 95 and has the end 96 releasably engaged in the socket 16 of member 14.

No means are herein shown for applying ink to the printing characters or for supplying color to be printed by said characters on the ribbon R, R, as such ink or color supplying means does not necessarily form part of the present invention. The printing characters of the two series of printing elements 26, 28 and 31, 32 are printed or embossed on said ribbon R, R, which preferably is a strip of paper having a coating of wax or other coating materials and the impression of the printing character may be read through said ribbon. It is therefore evident that the printing characters may be arranged on the printing members or elements to read from left to right or vice versa as the case may be, but this arrangement of the direction of such characters does not form part of this invention.

The group of printing members 26, 28 is operated continuously by its clock motor mechanism while the group of printing members 31, 32 is operated, independently of the members 26, 28, by or through the operation of the vehicle or other motor driving means.

The platen or impression device is of course operated relative to the stopping and starting of the printing register comprising the members 31, 32, and the governor or mechanism for controlling the operation of the platen operating means is actuated through the starting and stopping of the said printing members 31, 32.

This invention is not limited to any particular means for transmitting motion from or detent 82in swing its end 84: out of 011'.

gagement with the tooth of disk 77 and at the same time to swing the hook end 85 of the detainer into the path of said tooth. tihait 7 5 and its gear is thus free to be retated by the spring motor 7st until the tooth of disk 77 is intercepted by the detainer end 85 and, in such rotative movement motion will be transmitted from gear 76 to gear 78 to etl'ect a rotation of shatt 7 9 andits cam 81 whereby the slide rod 59 is actuated to cause an impression movement of the platen and, through such movement of the platen take up or feed roll 65 will be actuated to advance the ribbon R, R, relative to the line a of impression.

During the continued operation of the train of gears and of the printing register comprising the members 31, 32 the governor mechanism will hold the detainer 82 against the action of spring 86 but as soon as the rotation oi the governor shaft 9% is reduced below a predetermined speed the links 92, 92 move toward a straight line and collar 9.1 and the parts related thereto move away from shaft 9-3 and spring 86 is permitted to act to swing the detainer 82 to release its hook end 85 from the tooth or disk 77 and to bring the detainer end 8% into the path of said tooth, whereupon shaft 75 may again be partially rotated to effect, through the above described instrumentalities another operation of the impression mechanism and of the ribbon feed.

It will thus be seen that an impression or record of the printing register and of the time register is made at the starting and at the stopping of the machine connected with the train of gears 18, 20 and that, if such machine remains at rest or dwells, after the making of a record impression, the time register having the members 26, 28 will continue to operate. At the end of such rest or dwell of the machine at the starting of the machine, another impression will be made which latter impression will record the duration of such stop or dwell.

Referring now to Fig. 1, in view of the above description of the operation of the improved recorder it will be seen that the disks 31, 32 are or may be operated, through any machine operatively connected with said disks 31, 32, to register the work done or the measurable pertormance 0t said machlne during each period of operation of said machine. When said machine 1s at rest the disks 31, are at rest. These disks 31, 82

are positioned to print in the column 7) of record strip R while the disks 26, 28 are positioned to print in the column 0 as above stated only when the platen or impression device 58 is operated which is approximately at each starting of the machine connected with this recorder and at each stopping of said machine. No record. is or can be taken while said machine is under operation, after the starting record, or while said machine is at rest, after the stopping record. As column 0 of the record shown in Fig. 1 refers to time registered by disks 26, the lowermost record or said column records the fact that the machine under observation was started at 7 oclock and that at that time said machine had not accomplished any work or performance to eilect registration by rotation of disks 81, 32. At 7.30 oclock the machine was stopped with a measurable performance registered by the disks 31, of 10.00 which may arbitrarily indicate miles traveled, articles made or any kind of work done by the machine. The next record indicates the fact that the machine which was stopped at 7 .30 oclock remained idle until 7.40 oclock, that no work was done by such machine and that the next period of operation would start with the number 10.00, while the final record shown in said Fig. 1 is to the effect that in the last period of operation 7.30 oclock to 8.20 oclock the work accomplished is to be computed by deducting the number 10.00 from the number 14.00 the last number recorded. This last number recorded, however, without necessity of computation, designates the total measurable performance of the machine during all of said several periods or operation.

While 1 have herein shown specific means for operating the impression mechanism and the ribbon feed it is not my intention thereby to limit my invention.

Having thus described my invention 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent.

1. A recorder comprising two independent printing registering mechanisms, means for operating one of said mechanisms continuously, means for operating the other of said mechanisms from a going machine, said machine having an impression mechanism, a record receiving member, means for sustaining said member, and means adapted to be actuated through both the stopping and the starting of said machine for operating said impression mechanism and for effecting a limited advance of said record receiving member at each operation of such impression mechanism.

2. A recorder comprising a time register having printing characters, a second register having printing characters, means for operating said second register, impression means related to both said registers, means for operating said impression means, and mechanism correlated with said operating means for said second register to actuate said impression means at the stopping and starting of said second register.

3. A recorder comprising a continuously operated time register having printing characters, a second register, means for operating said second register and for permitting said second register to dwell, an impression device, and mechanism for actuating said impression device at the beginning and end of such dwell.

-l. A recorder comprising a pair of correlated printing registers, means for operating one of said registers continuously, means for operating said second register intermittently, an impression device, means for opcrating said impression device, a detainer for said impression device operating means, and means actuating said detainer to the release position at the starting and stopping of said second register.

5. A recorder comprising a pair of printing registers, means for operating said registers independently, impression means therefor, a record receiving member normally at rest, and mechanism correlated with the operating means of one of said registers for efiiecting plural impression movements of said impression device and plural limited advancing movements of said record receiving member for each period of opertion and dwell of said register.

6. A recorder comprising a pair of printing registers, driving means for one of said registers, means for sustaining a record receiving member adjacent said registers, an impression device, means correlated with the-operation of said driven register to effeet the operation of said impression device at the starting and stopping of said register, a take up means for said record receiving member, and means for operating said take up means coincidently with the operation of said impression device.

7. A recorder for recording the measurable performance of an intermittently operated machine comprising correlated printing means respectively registering time continuously and measurable performance dur ing variable periods determined by the effectiveness of the machine, and means for recording said registrations at the starting and stopping of such variable periods.

CARROLL H. RICHARDS.

Witnesses ESTHER MURPHY, HENRY J. MILLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington. I). 0. 

